Quote of the Day

A gay man [Ron Belgau*] who has chosen celibacy is . . . the only Catholic experience of being LGBT [to be represented at next month's World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia]. He represents the tiniest fraction of LGBT Catholics in this country and around the world. The vast majority of Catholics have family members who are in same-sex relationships or are seeking relationships or deciding how to live openly in the gender they know themselves to be. Hiding this fact would be laughable if it wasn’t so dangerous.

– Marianne Duddy-Burke
Quoted in Patricia Miller's article,
"Archbishop Boots LGBT Catholics from Philly Church"
Religion Dispatches
August 18, 2015

* Notes Julia Terruso in her 8/16/15 Philadelphia Inquirer article, "LGBT Catholics Say World Meeting of Families is Missing an Opportunity":

Ron Belgau [left], editor of a website called Spiritual Friendship, is to speak, along with his mother, at a session titled "Always Consider the Person: Homosexuality in the Family." He is gay and celibate.

"I accept and try to advocate for the church's teaching on sexual ethics," Belgau said in an interview from St. Louis, "But I am also not banging people over the head with that - I do advocate for celibacy, but I do think there's a tendency in the current conversations to make a much bigger deal of that."

Belgau said he thinks LGBT Catholics are cast out of the church more than others who do not live in accordance with its teachings, such as by divorcing or using contraception.

Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, a national Catholic LGBT group, said Belgau's role in the meeting is a step, if a small one.

"The good news is, gay issues are going to be talked about openly - it's on the official agenda, and that's a step forward, and I want to make clear we have no objection to gay people who choose celibacy," Duddy-Burke said. "But it presents a limited view, to say the least, and an unrealistic view of how most gay Catholics and their families live."

She said gay Catholics don't check their activism at the church door anymore: "Over the past 45 years, we've become more visible and more vocal and have sort of said to the church, 'You can't just deal with us as sinners, you need to hear our stories.'"

Related Off-site Links:
Catholic LGBT Equality Groups Getting Shut Out of Pope's World Families Meeting in Philadelphia – Michelle Boorstein (The Washington Post, August 19, 2015).
LGBT Catholics Say World Meeting of Families is Missing an Opportunity – Julia Terruso (The Philadelphia Enquirer, August 19, 2015).
LGBT Group Rejected by Philadelphia Archdiocese Won't Back Down – Antonia Blumberg (The Huffington Post, August 19, 2015).
Philly Archbishop Evicts LGBT Events Scheduled for World Meeting of Families; New Ways Ministry and Equally Blessed Respond – Bob Shine (Bondings 2.0, August 18, 2015).
Notre Dame Hosts "Gay in Christ" Conference Promoting Gay Celibacy – Eliel Cruz (Religion News Service, November 5, 2014).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• When Expulsion is the Cost of Discipleship
• The Many Manifestations of God's Loving Embrace
• Catholics Make Their Voices Heard on LGBTQ Issues
• LGBT Catholics Celebrate Being "Wonderfully Made"
• 300+ People Vigil at the Cathedral in Solidarity with LGBT Catholics
• Celebrating Our Sanctifying Truth
• Stop in the Name of Discriminatory Ideology!
• The Real Meaning of Courage
• The Many Forms of Courage (Part I)
• The Many Forms of Courage (Part II)
• The Many Forms of Courage (Part III)
• Beyond Courage
• Trusting God’s Generous Invitation
• Be Not Afraid: You Can Be Happy and Gay
• Sons of the Church: The Witnessing of Gay Catholic Men - A Discussion Guide
• The Catholic Church and Gays: An Excellent Historical Overview
• The Dreaded “Same-Sex Attracted” View of Catholicism
• Truth Telling: The Greatest of Sins in a Dysfunctional Church
• Our Catholic “Stonewall Moment”
• What the Vatican Can Learn from the X-Men
• To Whom the Future of the Catholic Church Belongs
• Thoughts on Celibacy (Part I)
• Thoughts on Celibacy (Part II)
• Thoughts on Celibacy (Part III)
• Thoughts on Celibacy (Part IV)
• Somewhere In Between
• Beyond the Hierarchy: The Blossoming of Liberating Catholic Insights on Sexuality
• Remembering and Reclaiming a Wise, Spacious, and Holy Understanding of Homosexuality

Image: Gregg Webb.